Marshall DSL15H Guitar Amplifier Head

The mindset behind the DSL15H 15-watt head is simple; take that world-renowned DSL100H tone and make it available in a compact, low-wattage, all-valve unit containing four ECC83 valves in the preamp and two 6V6s in the power stage. Features and control-wise, the Marshall DSL15H is identical to the DSL15C, minus the reverb. This no-nonsense mini-brute is packed full of famed Marshall tone.

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A Portable Powerhouse of Tone

The DSL15H features two footswitchable channels (footswitch supplied) -- 'Classic Gain' and 'Ultra Gain'. As their names imply, each channel has a very different character. 'Classic Gain' takes you from a shimmering, harmonic-enhanced clean to a 1959 style crunch when the gain control is cranked. 'Ultra Gain', on the other hand, takes you into the world of modern high gain and then some. The ability to select either the full 15-watts of output power or half-power (7.5 watts) via the pentode/triode switch on the rear panel, adds further to your DSL's already impressive feature set. The all-round tonal and gain versatility makes the DSL15H a superb and flexible performance tool for today's most demanding playing situations.

Equalization: Tone Shift, Presence, and Deep Switches

Both channels share a passive three-band EQ with controls for Bass, Middle and Treble. The equalization section also features a 'Tone Shift' button which, when activated, shifts out the mid frequencies -- making the amp ideal for brutal, modern metal tones, especially when combined with the high gain settings of the 'Ultra Gain' channel. The equalization section also features a control for 'Presence' and a 'Deep' switch. Both of these equalization enhancers are functions of the power amp. Presence adds a variable high-end "bite" to your tone while the Deep switch adds a fixed, resonant bass boost to your sound -- adding girth without muddying it up.

About the Dual Super Lead Series

When the JCM2000 Dual Super Lead (DSL) series of amps was introduced in 1997, they were received with open arms and glowing compliments by the guitar loving public and press alike. In fact, one of the biggest American guitar magazines described the DSL100 as possibly "the best Marshall ever. It combines the best tonal qualities and features of both modern and vintage Marshall amps in one package." After an extremely successful and long life, the JCM2000 series was replaced by the JVM series in 2007, which has also gone onto great success and critical acclaim. That said, there's still a great deal of respect and demand for Dual Super Leads, with one of the UK's most popular guitar magazines recently referring to the DSL100 as "the go-to rock amp."

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
"Nice head but Marshall missed the boat on this one!"

Sound:
Nice clean tones, Can get heavy on the gain but very hard to find that Marshall vinage crunch. On the clean channel you have to dim out the gain knob to get breakup. Still no classic gain you would expect from a Marshall. What happened to the green channel that you would find on the old DSL. Not here. The gain channel is the same as the red channel on the old DSL. To get a nice crunch I dial the gain almost all the way down and crank the master. I find this channel fuzzy but when you use less gain and put the amp into 7.5 watt mode and crank up the master you in the 80's JCM era. If your looking for a Plexi crunch pass on this amp. You will not find it.
Feature:
amp has two channels. Clean and dirty with a deep and mid boost switches, shared eq, and a footswitch. There is no reverb or effects loop. But there is a nice pentode / triode switch on the back for cutting the wattage in half for home use.
Ease of Use:
Like any Marshall they are a Plug n Play amp. This one requires some tweaking to get your tone or at least get a classic Marshall tone.
Quality:
Quality is on par with the MA series but the tolex is more rubber like than typical tolex. Very road worthy and looks like it can stand up to bumps and bruises.
Value:
I would say this amp is not much more money than a MG and sounds tons better than the MA / Haze series. I have a Jet City 22h as well and that amp smokes this amp to shame on the OD channel. Cleans are about even. Marshall cleans are a bit more open but the Jet City can allow you to dial in some dirt and it is $100 less.
Manufacturer Support:
N/A
The Wow Factor:
The wow factor is it's a Marshall with some nice modern Marshall tones for peanuts. The 15 watt head is perfect for home or band use. The amp is not perfect but what it does it does well.
Overall:
Why buy a MG when you can have a valve powered Marshall amp for little money.

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Overall:
I had another tube amp that I had purchased and the changed my mind and wanted this Marshall DSL 15 H head. Since it within the time frame that was allowed for a return, I emailed them with my desire, they responded quickly, and simce I always keep all of the original carton, manuals , aprds etc. and since the amp was bately played through, the whole return process was done quickly, and without any hassle.
Once they got my amp back and processed, I had my new amp within an 8-9 day period. That's why I' ll continue to look to Zzounds for all ofy gear needs!
This new DSL 15H continues the tradition of an excellent tune amp in a small form factor, at an affordable price!

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